Presenter Madeley said she had managed to control the attacks when they began aged 20, but the pressure of performing live in the celebrity skating contest had proved "quite overwhelming".

Speaking to Phil Williams, she said: "I've always kind of suffered from anxiety attacks, well not always, when I was about 20 they started, and I managed to get them under control.

"But obviously doing a show like Dancing On Ice when you're going out there in front of three judges and an audience and cameras who are broadcasting to, you know, ten plus million people, it can get quite overwhelming.

"I found about two or three weeks ago, I started having a panic attack in the middle of my routine while we were live on air and I just thought as soon as it ended I ran off crying and into Hayley Tamaddon's (who won last year) arms, and I thought to myself: that cannot happen again.

"So I've started to see someone who is basically helping me to not have a panic attack again and it's really working, so I definitely would recommend it to those of you that are in a similar situation."

Referring to her treatment, she added: "I personally think that I mentally need to deal with it and once I've done it that way the anxiety will just turn into adrenaline."